Almaas sued, seeking the return of the dogs and repayment for vet bills she had covered — totalling more than $13,500.

Wheeler’s counterclaim sought $12,187 for the cost of the dogs, training expenses and vet bills, as well as 50/50 shared custody of Aurora and Zeus.

In her decision, made public on Thursday, April 2, Kamloops provincial court Judge Stella Frame said the court cannot treat pets like kids, so no shared parenting can be implemented.

“The law is clear that dogs, even those purchased in the course of a relationship as a family pet, are property,” Frame said. “It is the nature of that property and how ownership of it is determined that is a bit more unique to pet cases than it is to toasters or other inanimate objects.”